Most homes today have gutters to help manage the water that may be leaking into their basement, puddling in the wrong spots around the home, and also to avoid erosion or wear and tear on paint. Your gutter drainage system is rather simple, but very important. There are some things that can go wrong, so do some upkeep on your system to make sure it is running smoothly as you wish it. Small problems with any gutter drainage system can lead to bigger issues if not addressed in a timely manner.
One of the biggest problems that people have with gutter drainage is blockage anywhere in the system. This usually happens because dry leaves, pine cones, and other times have slipped from the roof and into the gutter. If you can, you can simple use a ladder to clean out your gutters once a year, or you can hire a service to clean them out for you. There are also new gutters that have a better design so that these things run off rather than into your gutters.
There are problems that arise with a gutter drainage system even if you are sure to have everything cleaned and cleared so the water is running through the system smoothly. There are drains at the bottom that route the water to where you want ti to go so it does not puddle on the grass and does not drip over your doorways. These often keep the water from flowing down and right along the wall of your basement where it may erode the cement or where it may already leak. If these come loose, you want to have them fixed or replaced as soon as possible.
Cracks and breaks in your gutter drainage system can mean water is running over your home in odd spots. This is when things can get tricky. You may not always know that there is a problem or that a break has occurred. Take the time in spring and in the fall to walk around your home and look at the gutter drainage system as a whole to see if all is working well. If you can do this while it is raining, all the better. That is the best time to spot problems with gutter drainage. The great part of this is that if you spot things early, you may only have to fix or replace a small portion, which so be extremely cheap.
If you do not have good gutter drainage on your home, and you spot multiple problems, it might be time to see about getting new gutters on your home. You can upgrade to the newer types that stop debris from going into the gutters and that are made from more sturdy materials than older gutters. You may have to hire someone to put them up for you if you can not do it on your own, but in respect to the problems that bad gutters can cause, this is one very worthy home improvement investment. Make sure whomever you hire knows of your past issues with water drainage so they can reroute your system so that it works well.